7 Ways to Improve Recruiting in a Hot Economy!

The U. S. economy is continuing its steady growth in the second quarter of the year at 2.3%, and the unemployment rate remains at 5.3%. The competition for qualified employees is getting intense!

Many recruiters are hearing these ominous words from frowning, desperate executives, “We don’t have enough employees to fill our sales orders. We are losing business!” In a tight economy, it’s time to double down on recruiting strategies and do a mixture of the tried and true, and the innovative!

Here are 7 ways to accelerate recruiting:

Make your internal recruiting process leaner so that your company can respond quickly to the candidates you draw. Here’s how. Make sure that everyone involved in the recruiting process is clear about their exact roles, from recruiters to hiring managers, administrators and interviewers. Track you recruiting process so that you know how long it takes to source qualified candidates, review resumes, schedule interviews and generate offers. By starting with your internal processes, you can fix what is under your control and significantly accelerate your recruiting timeline. It takes real numbers to get management’s attention and make improvements. When you can show top management that delays in hiring are not due to anemic sourcing but tardy reviews of resumes by management, for example, it garners attention!

Promote a talent management mindset. In this economy, every manager should have the mindset that “recruiting is my number one role.” It is the responsibility of the recruiter to do the hunting, but managers can accelerate the process by providing the names of the top 10 candidates they know in the industry, making a few phone calls, and being available and prepared to review resumes and conduct interviews. Every employee should understand that they are the company’s best ambassadors. What employees say to friends about their work and the company’s culture, whether in person, on Facebook or Glassdoor, can be priceless or a death sentence to recruiting efforts, not to mention employee referrals!

Try something new! Do you remember the last time you or a friend used Tinder—the anonymous on-line dating service? This technology has moved to recruiting! Now there are several on-line, anonymous job matching services. They are a great way to be introduced to passive, but restless, candidates who are looking for a career move. Job seekers list their requirements for changing jobs, and the algorithm matches them with available positions. Just like Tinder, users swipe to the right for jobs that interest them, and to the left for jobs they don’t like. Then, the software notifies employers of interested job seekers. There are several of these technology platforms, such as Poachable.co (with the somewhat romantic slogan “Let your dream job find you!”), Switch (in partnership with CareerBuilder) and Blonk.co. If you haven’t yet done so, create your own community of potential candidates on social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Tumbler. Post updates about your company, such as product launches, employee celebrations, and new rounds of funding – anything that might interest your target workforce community. Work with your marketing and investor relations teams to find appropriate material. Also, acknowledge up-and-coming employees who recently had an outstanding achievement or reached a significant milestone by posting videos about them on YouTube.

Never miss an opportunity to make a good first impression with candidates. Mom was right – you only get one chance at a first impression. So, when candidates show up for the face-to-face interviews, have a smiling, enthusiastic person greet them! Give them a tour, and let them have lunch with current employees to learn more about the work environment and development opportunities. Make sure your interviewers are on time, and prepared!

Decide quickly! The best candidates will receive multiple job offers, so decide quickly and generate yours. Moving fast means being prepared. Don’t wait until it is time to make an offer to figure out the market value of the position and address any internal equity issues. Start on that before you post the job!

Maintain contact with “close seconds” for the posted position and any employees who have left the company! You and your management team already know their skill sets, you have a relationship them, and you have their contact information. Add them to your on-line communities to keep their interest warm, and contact them directly with a personal message when the right opportunity opens up.

Speed! Now that you’ve worked on the first six, you will be a lean, engaged, recruiting machine. Move quickly!

What has worked for you in recruiting great employees? What hasn’t? I would love to hear from you.

Victor Assad is a strategic human resources consultant and executive coach who works with key decision makers and human resources leaders on talent management, accelerating change, leadership development, and other strategic initiatives, such as mergers and acquisitions, strategy implementation, and flexible workplace. Please e-mail Victor at victorassad6@gmail.com or visit Victor’s website at www.victorhrconsultant.com to schedule a free one-hour strategy session or download free whitepapers!